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Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny joins Juventus as Italian champions step up transfer spending

The Poland international made almost 200 appearances for the north London club before falling out of favour with manager Arsene Wenger

Wednesday 19 July 2017 17:17 BST
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Szczesny has spent the past two seasons playing on loan at Roma
Szczesny has spent the past two seasons playing on loan at Roma (AFP/Getty Images)

Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has left Arsenal to join Italian champions Juventus.

The 27-year-old spent the last two seasons on loan with Juve's Serie A rivals Roma but has now agreed to compete with the veteran Gianluigi Buffon.

The fee is reported to be 11.3 million euros (£10million) for a player who made almost 200 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal before losing his place to David Ospina during the 2014-15 campaign.

After committing to the Turin club until 2021, the Pole told Juventus.com: "I'm really happy to be here. I've already spoken to Buffon, a legend in our game, and I can learn a lot from him.

"I'm not feeling any pressure, I'm here to represent the club at the highest level. When you come to Juve, it's because you've been chosen. I had no hesitation.

"In football there's always room for improvement. I'm proud of the work I've done thus far and I'm ready for this new challenge - Juventus is the best choice for the next stage of my career.

"Do I have any weaknesses? No, I'm a Juventus player now!"

The Serie A champions, who sold their long-serving centre-back Leonardo Bonucci to ambitious AC Milan, are looking for defensive cover and appear poised to land Italy full-back Mattia De Sciglio on an initial loan deal.

Tweets published on Juve's official account on Wednesday morning showed De Sciglio, 24, arriving in Turin to undergo a medical.

The Milan-born player will help fill the gap left by Dani Alves, who recently joined Paris St Germain after a single season with Juve, but he has also played at left-back.

On Tuesday Juve pulled out of a deal to recruit promising Czech striker Patrik Schick from Sampdoria while reports in Italy have linked the Scudetto holders with a move for Nemanja Matic of Chelsea.

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